Reference News Network, January 6 report: The Hong Kong Asia Times website recently published an article titled "China's Ambitious Plan to Lead the Global Publishing Industry," written by Zulkifli Musa, editor-in-chief of the Universiti Sains Malaysia Press. Excerpts are as follows:

If current trends continue, China is expected to become a major force in the global publishing industry within the next decade. China's rise in this field is attributed to the growth of the domestic market, a focused expansion strategy, rapid development in academic publishing, and early adoption of digital technology. This transformation will affect what global readers read and how they read.

Embracing the Digital Age

China's book publishing market has already become one of the largest in the world. Hundreds of millions of active readers, combined with increasing disposable income, have boosted demand for both print books and e-books.

Platforms such as Dangdang.com and JD Books continue to expand their catalogues, while audiobooks and mobile reading applications have gained widespread attention. The fact that physical bookstores can coexist with digital reading demonstrates the breadth and diversity of this market. Strong consumer demand provides publishers with financial space to experiment with publishing formats, marketing strategies, and new distribution channels. These conditions allow publishers to test and refine models that may be difficult to implement in other markets. Over the next decade, this domestic advantage will further drive China's content exports and enhance its influence on global trends.

Although the market faces some challenges, such as fierce price wars and slowing growth in the children's book sector due to demographic changes, its innovative capacity remains strong.

Chinese publishers are quickly adapting to the digital age, with short video e-commerce platforms like TikTok becoming important sales channels. Due to their rapid adoption of new retail models, Chinese publishers have greater flexibility than their Western counterparts, allowing them to instantly reach a large digital-native audience. Additionally, growing cultural pride is driving demand for high-quality original content that blends traditional Chinese narratives with modern themes. Efforts to promote local intellectual property have already yielded results, as publishers actively engage in copyright exports and international collaborations.

As the quality of Chinese literature and non-fiction improves, the number of translated works in international markets will steadily increase, thereby shifting the cultural focus of global reading. As artificial intelligence becomes increasingly central to the publishing industry, China's advantages may further expand.

Expanding the International Market

The internationalization of China's mass publishing industry is an essential component of a higher-level soft power strategy supported by the government.

This is not a slow, natural development process but rather a strategic initiative driven by large state-owned groups such as China Publishing Group and China International Publishing Group. These industry giants are leveraging their substantial resources to expand into international markets through various means. Institutions under the China International Publishing Group, such as the Foreign Languages Press and New World Press, publish books in multiple languages, including English, French, German, Spanish, Japanese, and Arabic, covering topics ranging from contemporary Chinese society to literary works and cultural classics, promoting the narrative China advocates and enhancing global understanding of China.

In addition, Chinese publishers are rapidly acquiring international book copyrights. They also establish strategic partnerships with global publishing houses to jointly publish works targeting multilingual audiences. These measures expand China's cultural influence, enabling Chinese publishers to participate in shaping the global discourse.

Over the next decade, it is expected that more Chinese narratives will enter mainstream markets, especially in Asia, Africa, and Latin America.

Rapid Development of Academic Publishing

While the mass publishing industry steadily expands overseas, the Chinese academic publishing sector is undergoing even deeper transformations. China continues to invest heavily in research and development and has become a technological powerhouse.

Open access is another rapidly developing area in China. Policy adjustments encourage research institutions to establish knowledge repositories, share data, and adopt more transparent research practices.

Combined with large-scale investments in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM), it is expected that by 2030, Chinese academic publishers will have greater global influence, particularly in engineering, medicine, and environmental sciences.

The Chinese government is also promoting the creation of world-class local academic journals to reduce dependence on foreign institutions. Substantial investments in digital publishing and knowledge platforms have accelerated this strategy, helping local publishers achieve modernization and rapidly scale up.

By building its own global standard academic infrastructure, China is gradually transforming from a follower of Western academic models into a major competitor. Publishing is a form of soft power, and China understands its value. Projects such as the Belt and Road Initiative include cultural content, including book translation projects, book festivals, and academic exchanges.

Through these projects, Chinese publishers establish connections with emerging markets and strengthen their influence in regions historically dominated by Western publishers.

These collaborations often result in joint publications or long-term distribution agreements, allowing Chinese books to enter new markets. They also encourage local authors and researchers to collaborate with Chinese counterparts. In the long run, these relationships will shape how readers around the world perceive global knowledge and culture.

China's publishing industry is entering a stage where ambition and capability are increasingly aligned. If current trends continue, China will dominate the market. For global publishers, the question is not whether this shift will happen, but how quickly they can adapt. (Translated by Qing Songzhu)

March 12, 2025, at the joint booth of Chinese publishing units at the London Book Fair, an exhibitor reads the "China Yearbook 2023" (English edition) organized by Xinhua Press and edited by the China Yearbook Editorial Department. (Xinhua News Agency)

Original source: toutiao.com/article/7592160631113925160/

Statement: The article represents the views of the author alone.